The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) reinforced its electoral dominance with a strong performance in weekend legislative by-elections, capturing four of the five contested seats across the Northeast, Northwest and South-South geopolitical zones.
Barely months before the next general elections, the APC secured victories in Gombe, Delta and Kano states, while splitting the two seats on offer in Bauchi with the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the following winners:
• Kallamu Usman MaiJama’a (APC) – Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency, Gombe State
• Husseini Datti (APC) – Dawakin Kudu State Constituency, Kano State
• Okolosi Ator (APC) – Udu State Constituency, Delta State
• Yakubu Ali (APC) – Disina State Constituency, Bauchi State
• Adamu Yakubu (APM) – Sakwa State Constituency, Bauchi State
Margins were particularly wide in Gombe, Kano and Delta, while the Disina contest proved closer.
In Gombe, MaiJama’a polled 41,121 votes to defeat the Labour Party candidate’s 3,553. The APM and NDP trailed with 872 and 707 votes respectively. Returning Officer Prof. Umar Gurama of the Federal University of Kashere announced the results at the Malam-Sidi collation centre, reporting 47,301 total votes cast (46,551 valid, 750 rejected) across 903 polling units in 31 registration areas. The seat fell vacant following the death of former representative Yaya Bauchi-Tongo.
In Kano, Datti secured the Dawakin Kudu seat with 22,890 votes. The Peoples Redemption Party’s Habibu Hamisu finished a distant second with 270 votes, followed by the PDP’s Abdullahi Adamu (108), ADP (89), APP (53) and Labour Party (39). Returning Officer Prof. Ibrahim Tajo Siraj declared 23,611 total votes (23,449 valid, 162 rejected).
In Delta, Ator won the Udu State Constituency with 8,724 votes against the PDP’s George Orugbo (212) and the APM’s Esther Omovie (33). The APC led in all 10 wards, producing a margin of 8,512 votes. The seat became vacant after former lawmaker Collins Egbetamah defected from the APC to the Nigeria Democratic Congress; the Delta State House of Assembly declared it vacant on 30 June 2026. Voting was generally peaceful, though some units experienced BVAS challenges and delayed starts.
In Bauchi, Yakubu Ali of the APC edged the Disina contest with 5,846 votes against the APM candidate’s 5,225 and the PRP’s 3,701. In Sakwa (Zaki Local Government Area), however, APM’s Adamu Yakubu prevailed with 8,515 votes, ahead of the APC (3,771), PDP (2,076) and PRP (727).
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu described the results as evidence of continued grassroots support for his administration and its economic reforms. In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President congratulated the winners and urged Nigerians to remain steadfast, saying the benefits of the reforms would become clearer in the next phase. He called on the victors to justify the confidence of their constituents through effective representation and appealed to losers to accept the outcomes in good faith. Tinubu also praised voters, security agencies and INEC while urging the commission to address identified shortcomings ahead of the general elections.
INEC Chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan said the by-elections served as important tests of the commission’s preparedness, with lessons to be applied to improve logistics, technology and field operations.
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo described the APC’s spread of victories across three regions as “very significant” ahead of the 2027 general elections. Referencing the constitutional 25-per-cent threshold in two-thirds of states, he said he would reserve fuller analysis until after the presidential poll, predicting a Tinubu victory.
